Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy

by Anders Aslund

A penetrating look into the extreme plutocracy Vladimir Putin has created and its implications for Russia’s future
 
This insightful study explores how the economic system Vladimir Putin has developed in Russia works to consolidate control over the country. By appointing his close associates as heads of state enterprises and by giving control of the FSB and the judiciary to his friends from the KGB, he has enriched his business friends from Saint Petersburg with preferential government deals. Thus, Putin has created a super wealthy and loyal plutocracy that owes its existence to authoritarianism.
 
Much of this wealth has been hidden in offshore havens in the United States and the United Kingdom, where companies with anonymous owners and black money transfers are allowed to thrive. Though beneficial to a select few, this system has left Russia’s economy in untenable stagnation, which Putin has tried to mask through military might.

Genres: Russia, Nonfiction, Politics, History, Economics, Audiobook, Russian History

336 pages, Hardcover

Published May 21, 2019

Reviews

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to read some more books on the kinds and nature of corporate abuse in fascist systems and get a richer understanding of the forces that drive the merger of state power and economic activity. This book is by a Swedish economist who has been deeply following Russian economic forces for decades, and he seemed well placed to give a clear picture of the structure.

The book was not quite what I was expecting, but in a good way. This was very clear and extensive on the particular players in the oligarchic circles around Putin, and describes the major corporations and state entities around them, the macroeconomic policies of Russia over the transition from communism, through market reform, to kleptocracy.

The book didn’t always connect all the forces behind different government actions and oligarchic benefit, but it often did, and it also gave a number of isolated histories for the entities and that larger-scale picture of how the wove together in Putin’s design.

But besides the economic insight, it also clarified some important things about the ultimate nature of fascism. This book really illustrated extensively how the Russian cronyism is really a return to aristocracy, it’s an usurpation against democracy to build a ruling, profiting cabal. Which fits into the whole I G Farben / Die Krupps / ... Nazi structure, or the Battle of the Grain in Italy.

I had a number of great insights going through this book, and I think it is one I will likely return to.

[Shrike58 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had you read this book late last year, you would not have been caught off guard by the onset of a major war between Russia and Ukraine, in as much as the author was very concerned that Putin would see fit to try and convert Russia's still substantial military might into economic and political power before it dwindled away. However, isn't it funny how a regime based on corruption and graft would turn out to field armed forces that were corroded by that same corruption and graft?

That said, is this book still worth your time? Probably yes, as Aslund details the structures that Putin created to bolster his power, and the people he used to help him. There is a particular emphasis on the system of secret off-shore banking that allowed the Russian oligarchs (and Putin is the biggest oligarch of all), to smuggle their wealth overseas.

As for the future, that remains to be the seen. At the time I'm writing this, maybe Russia can still bludgeon its way to a pyrrhic victory in the current war. However, it seems unlikely that Putin's ruling system will long survive him; who knows what social stresses are taking place that made Putin decide that it was "make or break" time.

Actual rating is 3.5, due to the book being overtaken by events and a somewhat meandering writing style.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book weaving together the political and economic history of Putin's post-soviet Russia (basically, Putin controls everything, including a kids Judo center in St. Petersburgh). Very dense. Lots of names (too many for a non-Russian-phile like myself). First chapter and last chapter are worthwhile. The rest is worth skimming

[Tony Wohlfarth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book to read for a better understanding of Putin and contemporary Russia.
Aslund is an actor - speaks Russian, has me/interviewed many of Putin's cronies, & has analyzed an amazing array of first hand sources. His conclusion - that Putin's Russia is a declining economic force and imposing military/nuclear threat - is solid. His policy prescription - greater financial transparency - is well articulated. To correct another review, Aslund is a senior fellow @ the Atlantic Council and teaches @ Georgetown i.e. he may be Swedish, but works in the US. I cannot recommend this book more. It is thoughtful, analytical, non-dogmatic and impeccably written.

[Lukasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bardzo ciekawa książka. Autor opisuje jak przez ostatnich trzydzieści lat kapitalizm się rozwijał w Rosji. Zaciekawił mnie temat tranfsormacji systemowej w latach 90tych. Niektóre reformy gospodarcze bardzo mnie zdziwiły. Nie przypuszczałem, że gospodarka radziecka była tak mocno centralnie planowana i oparta na handlu barterowym. To tylko przyklady

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great examination of how unique the Russian economy is! Looking at the nature of power concentration, oligarchy, involvement in international organisations and more this is an excellent overview of how different the Russian economy is and how much control Putin exerts over it.

[Scott Rauland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Five stars on substance, three stars on readability. Well worth your time if you have any interest in how Putin has transformed the Russian state and where he has stashed his billions.

[John Ashmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely lucid explanation of how Putin and his clique have silted away trillions of dollars from the Russian people under their own noses.

[Vincenzo Tagle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how Putin usurped Russia’s post-Soviet institutions and installed cronies to grab economic and political control. The first chapter and the conclusion are worth the price tag alone.

[Jaap van der Geest · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF

[Ioannis Neris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall breakdown of Putins inner circle and perception. No data that were already known

[Prescott]

at some point i'm going to finish it, but not the audiobook version, a print copy